UK Eurovision entry 2019 contestants: Shortlist of singers and songs revealed

The BBC has confirmed the names of the six acts and songs on the contestants’ shortlist to become the UK Eurovision entry 2019.

They will take to the Eurovision: You Decide stage in February to compete for the honour of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

This year there is a slight twist: There are six contenders but only three songs. Each song is performed by two different acts in “musically different ways”.

The six acts and their songs were revealed today on BBC Radio 2’s Ken Bruce show and are as follows:

Anisa – Sweet Lies

Written by Maria Broberg, Lise Cabble and Esben Svane

31-year-old Anisa is the oldest of three sisters in a family of five with a Mum hailing from France. The songwriter and performer was named one of BBC’s Asian Network’s Future Sounds in 2016 and has supported the likes of Ne-Yo, Brandy, Ashanti and James Arthur while writing for artists including Ariana Grande.

Anisa says about her song: “Sweet Lies is about being in a situation in life and taking the good with the bad, about being vulnerable and diving in head first.”

 

Kerrie-Anne – Sweet Lies

Written by Maria Broberg, Lise Cabble and Esben Svane

Influenced by church music, 32-year-old Kerrie-Anne grew up in a musical household her brother is a hip-hop / soul producer and her sister plays the harp. Originally qualified as a teacher, Kerrie-Anne began her career in Dubai before moving to the UK.

Kerrie-Anne says about her song: “The style of my song is up-tempo but at the same time the lyrics are quite poignant – it’s all about blissful ignorance. You know something is drastically wrong with your relationship but you choose to ignore those signs because you love that person”

 

Holly Tandy – Bigger Than Us

Written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander

17-year-old Holly credits her 84-year-old Grandad as her main musical influence as he bought her first guitar. The teenager previously competed on The X Factor where she made the live shows in 2017.

Holly says about her song: “My version of Bigger Than Us is a country pop song which is really current and cool, and similar to a Taylor Swift / Miley Cyrus vibe.”

 

Michael Rice – Bigger Than Us

Written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander

Michael taught himself to play piano from YouTube videos after his mum bought him a keyboard. Last year, he became the first winner of BBC One’s singing show All Together Now.

Michael says about his song: “My version of Bigger Than Us is such an epic, big song with a big key change and harmonies, and I think the lyrics resonate with everyone”

 

Jordan Clarke – Freaks

Written by Jon Maguire, Rick Parkhouse, Corey Sanders and George Tizzard

24-year-old Jordan is the youngest of four children and has three older sisters. He started singing from the age of three and when he was six, appeared as one of the Lost Boys in the movie Finding Neverland alongside Jonny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Jordan says about his song: “To represent my country at Eurovision would mean so much, it’s like representing England at the World Cup if you’re a footballer, this is my World Cup – I’m so excited!”

 

MAID – Freaks

Written by Jon Maguire, Rick Parkhouse, Corey Sanders and George Tizzard

Trio MAID are made up of Miracle, 26, Blythe, 24 and Kat, 27 from Edinburgh, Devon and Bristol respectively. They formed the band in 2018 after meeting at drama school and while performing in the West End.

MAID says about their song: “Freaks is about celebrating everyone’s individual personality, about the people who maybe don’t fit in and it’s about bringing everyone together.”

 

Presented by Mel Giedroyc and Måns Zelmerlöw, BBC Music’s Eurovision: You Decide will be broadcast live from Dock10, MediaCity UK in Salford as the show comes to the North West of England for the very first time.

Rylan, Mollie King and Marvin Humes will make up the UK Eurovision 2019 panel.

After all six potential song and contestant combinations have performed in the ‘Song-Off’ the expert judges will decide which three acts and version of each song will go forward to face the public vote.

The public can vote for their favourite song via telephone or online.

The 64th Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Expo Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, Israel with the Semi Finals broadcast on 14 and 16 May 2019 on BBC Four and the Grand Final will be broadcast on 18 May 2019 on BBC One.